The Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis Collection: Volume Two –

When TV Was Fun (Passport)

 

Picture: C-     Sound: C     Extras: D     Program: B-

 

 

The first Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis Collection was so successful that Passport has issued two more box sets.  The second volume is subtitled When TV Was Fun and features programming strictly from their Colgate Comedy Hour this time around.  The ten episodes of the show featured this time are:

 

1)     The pilot show from September 1950 with Marilyn Maxwell and Leonard Barr.  Needless to say that they were off to a good start.

2)     The second show from October has the mayors of Martin (Steubenville, Ohio) and Lewis (Newark, New Jersey) at the time show up.

3)     Sammy Petrillo from the all-time film disaster Bela Lugosi Meets A Brooklyn Gorilla guests in this November 1950 show.

4)     Eddie Cantor, a former Colgate Comedy Hour host himself, shows up in this May 1951 show.

5)     Singer Tony martin and boxing great Joe Lewis guest in this June 1951 show.

6)     Danny Arnold and Norman Lear get in front of the camera for this March 1952 show.

7)     Benny Rubin, Frank Nelson and Sheldon Leonard guest star in this May 1953 show.

8)     Burt Lancaster shows up for this October 1953 show.

9)     Character acting legend Franklin Pangborn shows up for this February 1955 broadcast.

10)  Pangborn returned for this February 1955 show with The Four Step Brothers, a dance group of the time.

 

 

That is a good set and sampling of the show, with some obviously key guests, making it a good follow-up to the first set, even if it does not have the diversity of the first collection.  Why these shows were not available sooner is odd, but here they are and they hold up very well for their age.

 

The full frame 1.33 X 1 image is a mix of kinescope/videotaped live action footage and animation on film for the advertisements, which look better by default.  This is very muddy for the most part, but the content is so good that it is limits that have to be accepted.  Whether better copies are out there, who knows, but the show needs some serious work.  That goes for the sound, the original monophonic sound a few generations down here in Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono.  There are no extras.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo